The Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker, and head of the Nuclear Power Plant Authority Amjad al-Wakeel, will hold a meeting with officials of the Russian company Rosatom on the sidelines of President Abdul Fattah El-Sisi’s visit to Moscow.
Shaker told Daily News Egypt that the operation of the Dabaa nuclear station is proceeding normally, and the project needs time to implement, and denied the reported cancellation of the contract. “Rumours are absolutely untrue. We agreed on a timetable and identified the cost and completed the work on the project,” he stressed.
The meeting will include the follow-up of the current position of the Dabaa Nuclear Plant Project, which is being implemented, and reviewing the characteristics of the project, the specifications of the selection of companies participating in the operational work of the station, as well as setting the timetable for the implementation of the project.
Sources told DNE that the officials of the Ministry of Electricity and Russia’s Rosatom will submit a detailed report to Presidents Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi and Vladimir Putin, to complete consultations on the implementation of the plant, and elements of nuclear safety, and activate the procedures for obtaining the necessary permits for the project’s establishment.
The plant’s nuclear safety systems combine positive and passive safety systems, with an unprecedented level of protection against internal and external factors.
The design of the reactor can withstand a collision of a large passenger plane in the outer shell of the station, in addition to earthquakes, floods, storms, snowfalls, and external explosions.
The sources said that the first tranche of the Russian loan will be available within the coming three months, especially as the Russian Rosatom began to contract with the companies that will take over services on the site or supply equipment for the station, most notably the contract with General Electric.
In December, President Al-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin witnessed the signing of a document to start the implementation of contracts for the construction of four nuclear reactors in the Dabaa area. The first reactor, primary receiving and commercial operation is expected to be completed by 2026. The agreed programme includes design and construction, supply of nuclear fuel, advisory services, maintenance, management, and treatment of exhausted fuel.
The project consists of four nuclear reactors with a capacity of 1,200 MW, with a total of 4,800 MW. The Russian Ministry of Finance provided a financing loan to establish the project worth $25bn, representing 85% of its value. President Al-Sisi approved the loan agreement and it was announced in the Official Gazette in mid-May 2016.
